Taylor claims junior medal at Seapoint

SHORT GAME:Rachel Taylor of Laytown and Bettystown scored 42 points to win the 2012 ILGU Junior Medal, on a countback from Kate McElroy (Faithlegg) at Seapoint Golf Club last week

Taylor emerged as the overall winner to claim the gold medal while Roscommon’s Róisín Timothy won the silver medal and Faithlegg’s McElroy took bronze. Laura Doherty from Howth won best gross with 31 points.

The drawsfor the 2013 Connacht Provincial Cups and Shields will be held in the McWilliam Park Hotel, Claremorris, on Thursday next at 8.00pm. They will be in the Lambert Suite on the first floor.

Prodigy Ko returning to scene of her first triumph

Teenage star Lydia Ko will defend her New South Wales Open title in January, returning to the scene of a victory which launched a history-making run of success.

South Korean-born, New Zealand-raised and based Ko became the youngest player, female or male, to win a professional tournament when she took the Sydney event last January aged 14.

She went on to finish as the leading amateur at the US Womens Open in July, to win the US Women’s Amateur Championship in August before winning the Canadian Open to become the youngest winner of an LPGA tournament.

Now 15, Ko said she has “such good memories” of the New South Wales tournament and was happy to defend her title at the Oatlands Golf Club from January 25th to 27th.

Congressional head for Dublin

The chief executive of Congressional Golf and Country Club, Washington DC, Michael Leemhuis, will be the guest speaker at the IGCMA Board seminar at the St Stephen’s Green Club on Friday next.

Leemhuis will be discussing Leadership and Private Club Trends with IGCMA members and their guests. The seminar gives club managers the chance to discuss the various issues currently affecting the club industry. It is sponsored by Jonas Clubminder, the leaders in Club Management systems. The cost is €50 per person to include dinner, wine and guest speaker. email James Burns, Milltown GC at
jburns@milltowngolfclub.ie.

Leopardstown Centre still getting results

The Leopardstown Golf Centre has been an institution in Irish golf since the 1960s when the legendary John Jacobs introduced the concept of floodlit golf to this country.

Today, five decades on, the centre is still a thriving, multi-faceted state-of-the-art facility that attracts thousands of enthusiasts each week.

It serves as a centre of excellence for top-flight golfers honing their skills for the competitive arena and as a wonderful facility for ordinary mortals seeking to improve their game. It is also home to a community of over 2,500 avid lady society golfers and each year huge numbers of youngsters take their first steps in the game there.

A substantial investment in recent times by Horse Racing Ireland, the owners and promoters, has transformed the centre into one of the finest of its kind in Europe.

Club Choice Ireland aiming to woo visitors

Last week marked the formation of a new golf marketing group which promises to roll out the red carpet to UK golfers in a bid to deliver a €2 million tourism boost to the south, east and midlands regions of Ireland.

Club Choice Ireland, which is being supported by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, has been set up to raise awareness of the south, east and midlands regions as premier golfing locations among golfing enthusiasts and the business community in the south west and midlands of England and Wales.

The 26 trade partners and golf clubs are soon to embark on an aggressive marketing campaign which will include direct visits to UK golf clubs, a series of Irish Golf Days in the UK, advertising, e-marketing, a dedicated website and media and travel trade familiarisation trips aimed at attracting 1,500 additional visitors to the regions for a new golfing experience.

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